Notorious homophobic bigot Matt Barber got all upset about this, calling the SPLC "partisan hacks," which is quite an accusation from one of the hackiest right-wing hacks in all of hackdom; for instance, consider his reliance on the discredited "research" of Paul Cameron.

Speaking of homophobic bigotry, Barber's ideological associates at Americans for Truth [sic] about Homosexuality may wish to consider themselves a "well-respected Christian organization," but they're not. Far from being "arbitrarily tagged as an official 'hate group,'" there isn't anything arbitrary about that designation--they've earned it by lying to maintain second-class citizenship for the LGBT community. (Peter "Porno Pete" LaBarbera, President of AFTAH, has some remarks about AFTAH being recognized as a hate group; his comments are amply debunked by Truth Wins Out.)

I'm glad to see purveyors of homophobia publicly shamed for peddling the same hatred as racists and xenophobes. Different bigots may target different groups, but their goals (and their tactics) have always been disturbingly similar.